UNC ready to ‘move on' with football coaching search

Senior Day at Kenan Stadium was a bittersweet occasion in which 17 seniors were honored.

CHAPEL HILL – Saturday was Senior Day at Kenan Stadium.

It was bittersweet occasion in which 17 seniors were honored for their contributions during what will likely be remembered as the most turbulent four-year period in North Carolina football history

But the upperclassmen that persevered through an NCAA investigation, suspensions and the loss of their head coach only days before the start of their final preseason camp weren't the only ones saying goodbye after their 37-21 win against Duke.

Though interim coach Everett Withers hasn't officially been informed of his fate, he too, sounded like a man reflecting on his final home appearance with the Tar Heels in the moments immediately following Saturday's emotional victory.

“It's been a blast. It really has,” Withers said when asked what it's been like coaching this year's team, which still has a bowl game left to play. “They didn't bat an eye one bit.

“I didn't know how they would react initially, but they just kind of came to work. Once we got three or four days into it, it was like, ‘OK, here we go.' As coaches, we had to respond because they did. Again, I'm as proud of this football team as any that I've ever been on.”

Withers should be commended for holding the team together and leading it to a respectable, though somewhat disappointing, 7-5 record. That's why he's being given what amounts to a courtesy interview with new athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

The reality of the situation, though, is that Withers has more of a chance of being hired as the new president of Pro Tect Management than getting the Tar Heels' coaching job on a permanent basis. There's simply too much baggage attached from the scandal-ridden regime of his predecessor Butch Davis, even though he was never tied to any wrongdoing.

With the NCAA mess soon to be history, Cunningham will want to make a clean break with the past and give his program a fresh start.

So where does that leave UNC?

An obvious choice, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently Tweeted, would seem to be South Florida's Skip Holtz – a proven winner with name recognition, charisma, knowledge of the area and a strong relationship with Cunningham, with whom he was a classmate at Notre Dame.

But that doesn't appear to be in the works.

Though things can and often do change quickly when it comes to coaching searches, especially if a hot commodity such as Boise State's Chris Petersen shows an interest, sources have indicated that the next Tar Heel leader will come from a group of five candidates that have already been scheduled for interviews.

They are (in no particular order) Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and head coaches Kevin Sumlin of Houston, Troy Calhoun of Air Force, Larry Fedora of Southern Mississippi and Cincinnati's Butch Jones.

Sumlin is the flavor of the month these days thanks to an undefeated team that appears headed to a BCS bowl. That means he'll be a serious candidate for every other coaching opening around the country. But despite a 35-16 record, his spread offense might not be the best fit for some of the traditionalists around Chapel Hill.

Calhoun has the opposite offensive problem because of his option attack at Air Force. But having formerly served as the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator, he's also well-versed on the pro style offense currently employed by the Tar Heels.

Neither he nor Fedora has experience recruiting at the highest levels, though, which would be a drawback.

That leaves Jones and Malzahn.

Jones would be a popular choice, because his hiring would appease those who still miss having “Butch” as their head coach while giving UNC the fresh face it needs. Unlike the last Butch, he also knows how to beat N.C.State, having done so earlier this season.

In the end, though, Malzahn figures to be the front-runner.

Not only does he have a national-championship pedigree with Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton among his list of protégés, he also served as an assistant at Tulsa during Cunningham's time there.

Although, like Sumlin, he can have his pick of jobs, he won't find many better – despite the threat of NCAA sanctions – in terms of location, opportunity for immediate success and administrative backing.

Whoever the new coach turns out to be, Cunningham's goal is to have him in place by Christmas. That would be a welcome present under the tree for any Tar Heel fan anxious to say goodbye to the past and start moving on toward a more stable future.

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